Post by Madhatter on May 9, 2013 17:55:46 GMT
Lichfield’s MP has challenged the Government to look again at the “God-forsaken route†of HS2.
Michael Fabricant also suggested that the proposals for the high speed rail line almost seemed to be “deliberately designed to to be as damaging as possible to rural England†and insisted his opposition was not because he was a “nimbyâ€.
His comments came in a House of Commons debate over the Queen’s Speech, which included two Bills on HS2.
“We have chosen a route that carves a devastating line through some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside,†Mr Fabricant added.
“The biggest irony of all is that in opposition we opposed the Labour route, and the Labour route is the one we have adopted.
“In opposition we said that we should adopt the route which would use an existing transport corridor as they do in Europe.
“By the most wonderful trick of irony that we sometimes see in politics, I believe that it is now official Labour party policy to use that route we supported in opposition.
“The opposition policy, whether Labour or Conservative, is the route that I support. Why? It is not because I am being a nimby, but simply because it will do far less damage to the environment.
“Thousands of homes are blighted by the route that HS2 is currently taking.â€
He told fellow MPs that he was not, in principle, against the plans for high speed rail – but insisted the message about need for extra capacity on the nation’s railway had not been put across well.
“The West Coast Main Line is working at 100 per cent capacity,†he explained. “I therefore accept that we need two extra railway lines to connect north and south.
“The Government did themselves no favours in 2010 when they argued that the reason for HS2 was to shave five minutes off the journey from Birmingham to London. That is not the reason for HS2.
“No, the reason for HS2 is the north-south capacity problem on the West Coast Main Line.
“I therefore accept the principle that we need HS2, but could it have been done in a worse way than how it is now being done? No, it could not.â€
He was also joined by Tamworth MP Christopher Pincher, who called for the compensation process to be “swiftâ€.
Mr Fabricant added: “This route is blighting homes, it is blighting lives, and it is blighting the environment.
“The HS2 policy, as it stands, is not a Conservative policy in the pure, theoretical sense of what conservatism is all about.
“We need to think carefully not about whether we need HS2, but about how we should execute the project. Otherwise, many people will think that by adopting Labour’s route, the Government have betrayed the vote that they cast in 2010.
“Their homes are not just blighted now – they have been blighted for three years, even since this God-forsaken route was published.
“I know elderly people who want to downsize, but cannot sell their homes. They are now, one might say, asset rich, but very cash poor. They cannot afford the homes they live in as they are retired, and they cannot sell them because they are blighted.
“It is essential that the Government are generous and swift in their compensation.â€
lichfieldlive.co.uk/2013/05/09/lichfield-mp-blasts-god-forsaken-route-of-hs2-in-queens-speech-debate/#comment-156649
Michael Fabricant also suggested that the proposals for the high speed rail line almost seemed to be “deliberately designed to to be as damaging as possible to rural England†and insisted his opposition was not because he was a “nimbyâ€.
His comments came in a House of Commons debate over the Queen’s Speech, which included two Bills on HS2.
“We have chosen a route that carves a devastating line through some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside,†Mr Fabricant added.
“The biggest irony of all is that in opposition we opposed the Labour route, and the Labour route is the one we have adopted.
“In opposition we said that we should adopt the route which would use an existing transport corridor as they do in Europe.
“By the most wonderful trick of irony that we sometimes see in politics, I believe that it is now official Labour party policy to use that route we supported in opposition.
“The opposition policy, whether Labour or Conservative, is the route that I support. Why? It is not because I am being a nimby, but simply because it will do far less damage to the environment.
“Thousands of homes are blighted by the route that HS2 is currently taking.â€
He told fellow MPs that he was not, in principle, against the plans for high speed rail – but insisted the message about need for extra capacity on the nation’s railway had not been put across well.
“The West Coast Main Line is working at 100 per cent capacity,†he explained. “I therefore accept that we need two extra railway lines to connect north and south.
“The Government did themselves no favours in 2010 when they argued that the reason for HS2 was to shave five minutes off the journey from Birmingham to London. That is not the reason for HS2.
“No, the reason for HS2 is the north-south capacity problem on the West Coast Main Line.
“I therefore accept the principle that we need HS2, but could it have been done in a worse way than how it is now being done? No, it could not.â€
He was also joined by Tamworth MP Christopher Pincher, who called for the compensation process to be “swiftâ€.
Mr Fabricant added: “This route is blighting homes, it is blighting lives, and it is blighting the environment.
“The HS2 policy, as it stands, is not a Conservative policy in the pure, theoretical sense of what conservatism is all about.
“We need to think carefully not about whether we need HS2, but about how we should execute the project. Otherwise, many people will think that by adopting Labour’s route, the Government have betrayed the vote that they cast in 2010.
“Their homes are not just blighted now – they have been blighted for three years, even since this God-forsaken route was published.
“I know elderly people who want to downsize, but cannot sell their homes. They are now, one might say, asset rich, but very cash poor. They cannot afford the homes they live in as they are retired, and they cannot sell them because they are blighted.
“It is essential that the Government are generous and swift in their compensation.â€
lichfieldlive.co.uk/2013/05/09/lichfield-mp-blasts-god-forsaken-route-of-hs2-in-queens-speech-debate/#comment-156649
